Behind the wall
by Aspect of Unoriginal Thought
Summary: Lilly has been leading Wellington for a good deal of time but, she finds that her community is lacking in essential supplies, due to all the new people. So, she has stopped letting people in. But, what will happen when she sees faces from her past making their way up the hill? Disclaimer: I don't own Tell-tale's, The Walking Dead. Profanity/violence (Season 3 prediction)
1. The Arrival

The cold metal chilled Lily's back as she sat alone in contemplation, in the solitude of her constructed wall; except for Edith, who she trusted dearly. Lily turned her gaze to the right, seeing Edith sitting in a wooden chair patiently, next to the green supply bags Lily instructed to distribute to pilgrims looking for safe passage. She didn't see this as her own personal moral decision, it was to keep her people's faith in her, make them believe she is the compassionate leader that led them to safety. She held her sniper rifle close, in case some pilgrim's decided to cause some trouble like the family of three did some time ago. Lily shut her eyes and tried to forget where she was, _what_ she was.

"Pssst!" Edith hissed at Lily, getting her to open her eyes and glare at her. "There are some people." She stated.

Lily sprang up and stuck her sniper rifle through one of the openings of the wall and focused her sights on her visitors. In her sights were two people, Clementine, and Kenny. She frowned, remembering their experience in the meat locker. She focused on Kenny as he turned to Clementine and told her something before beginning to approach. Lily fired.

Kenny and Clementine stopped, startled.

Edith eyed Lily with an expression of surprise on her face.

Lily intended to kill Kenny, instead, she missed because he was holding an infant.

"If you've got something to say to me, _say. It._" Lily snarled with a menacing glare.

Instead of responding, Edith grabbed the microphone, "That's far enough." She spoke as she watched the pair.

Clementine raised her hands, most likely instructed by the man accompanying her.

"Tell them to drop their weapons." Lily ordered.

Edith nodded, "Drop your weapons." She added into the mic.

Clementine pulled out her pistol and tossed it to the side.

Lily nodded once more. Edith understood.

"Approach the gate."

Edith stood and took position near the balcony.

_"What was that shot for?" _A man asked through her radio.

"Just a couple of people at the front gate. They don't look like trouble." She informed the man on the other line.

_"Let them off easy."_

"Sounds good." Edith replied just as Clementine and Kenny neared the balcony. "Hi, I'm Edith."

"Name's Kenny, and this here's Clementine." He replied.

"Hello." She greeted once more before noticing Alvin. "Aw, what a handsome boy. Look at him." Edith observed, trying to instill guilt upon her friend hiding just a few feet away. "What's his name?" She inquired.

"Alvin... Junior." Kenny told her.

"Aw, he's gonna be a little heart breaker when he grows up." She commented.

"Can you let us in? We're really hungry." Clementine asked.

Lily shook her head in a 'no' motion, aware of Edith's soft spot for struggling survivors; she had let others in, against her judgement. Though she trusted Edith, she also knew her well. Edith turned noticing Lily in her peripheral sight.

"What?" Clementine asked.

"Well, I'm afraid this is the part where I give you the bad news." Edith informed her before grabbing one of the green bags and dropping it over the balcony in front of them. Lily crossed her arms, not anxious to hear what was coming next.

"The hell's this?" Kenny questioned.

"That's some supplies, food, water, a first aid kit-"

"What? Why are you giving us this?" Kenny asked again, worry in his tone.

Lily turned away from Edith, about to hear the same thing she had heard dozens of times now.

"Unfortunately, our community isn't accepting new members. We're over capacity as it is, there's just not enough to go around if keep letting people in... Things might change in few months-"

"You gotta be fuckin' kidding me." Kenny said through his tired, disappointed face.

"I'm sorry. I really am." Edith told them.

"So, we're just supposed to take this and go?" Kenny asked.

"But there's only two of us." Clementine told her.

"I know dear, but I don't make the rules." Edith replied, turning slightly in Lily's direction as she spoke then back to Clementine.

"Do you know what we've been through? You have any idea what it took to get here? And now... now you're just going to turn us away?" Kenny questioned.

"Look, I don't mean to be harsh, but a whole lot of other people went through a hole lot of stuff to get here too, and they all got here before you. And don't think you're the first one's we've had to turn away." Edith told them, not hiding her sorrow from Lily, "You're not. But that doesn't mean I'm not real, real sorry to have to do this. If it was up to me, I..."

"Just take the kids!" Kenny spoke up, stepping forward.

"What?" Clementine asked.

Lily was also caught off guard, she never thought she'd see the day where Kenny did something for someone else's sake, and not his own. Lily began listening intently.

"Please! Just take the kids. It's too dangerous out here for them." Kenny began to plead.

"Kenny I-" Clementine said, trying to gain his attention.

Kenny ignored her and began stammering and begging further, "It's just a little girl and a baby boy. You can make room for that. You can take back the supplies you gave us if that helps. Please, just... I need them to be safe... And it's safe in there, I know that. Just ask someone, please? They won't make it out here... please."

Edith shook her head.

Lily stood still, taken back by the sincerity of the man she presumed to be her worst enemy.

"I'll... I'll ask, just gimme a second." Edith told them before turning and approaching Lily.

Lily turned and they both walked into the next room, sliding the metal door open.

"What do you think? We can't just let those children die like that, you heard the man. There are single family's with no children, maybe someone could adopt?" Edith asked.

Lily stood in silence for a brief moment, "Alright, but, just the children." Lily told her, the corners of her mouth pointed down.

She nodded. The pair made their way back to the balcony. Lily shut the metal door and waited to hear what was coming next. Edith took position back over the balcony.

"We can take the children but, just the children... I made the case that-"

"Thank you! Thank you." Kenny told, overcome with joy before turning back to Clementine, "Listen. Okay? Listen. This is your chance. for you, and this boy." He told her as he handed the child down to her and placing his hands on her shoulders, "I don't trust myself to keep you two safe... not anymore. Please... I'm begging you, please stay here... stay here where it's safe. Where you two will have a chance."

"No. No. No. Why are you doing this?" She cried.

Kenny began tearing up at the sight of her crying, "Because it's the only way... for both of you. Think bout Alvie here... Please, Clem, just... do as I'm askin'... this one last time... You'll meet people... You'll make friends... People better than me... Good people... That don't have to look at you... and feel ashamed at what they've put you through... Please, Clem, please... Where you won't have to sleep with a gun next to you every night... Where you can be a kid for awhile..."

"Okay... okay, we'll stay. We'll stay." Clementine told him.

Kenny wrapped his arms around them and hugged them passionately, "Good... good. This is the right decision. Okay... right. When he's grown, you tell him about his mommy and his daddy and all the people who tried to keep him safe... you tell him. Okay? He deserves to know."

He got back to his feet and began stammering and looking around, "I got... Oh, here... here... take this." Kenny suddenly pulled his hat off and handed it to Clementine. "When he... when he's old enough, you make him wear it. It'll... it'll keep the sun out of his eyes. That's important. All right. Good." He then turned and looked up at Edith, "Keep an eye out for 'em... please." He told her.

"I will..." Lily whispered. Edith began making her way down the stairs.

"Now... You take care of Alvin here... you... you live a good life, okay?" He told the girl before leaning in closer to her. "Don't waste this. Okay? Now... I'm gonna go... I'm gonna go before one of us... changes their mind." Kenny told her before picking the green bag up off the ground. "Now... I'm gonna walk away and... I might not look back... not 'cause I don't want to... I'm real glad to have met you, Clementine." Kenny began walking away from the wall.

Lily felt a pair of tears make their way down her face. Could she be, saddened by the man who killed her father, in pain? Lily then pulled a lever, opening the gate for Clementine.

"Wait... where's Lee?" She asked herself.


	2. Unanticipated

Lilly wiped her face and pulled open the metal sliding door before walking out. She made her was towards the stairs leading to the lower level of the wall, near the entrance, where Clementine was walking past. She stopped, and watched Clem and Edith walk into the city together. Once they were out of sight, Lilly made her way down.

"You know that girl?" A man behind her asked in a Spanish accent.

"Get back to work, Hector." She told him, not turning to face him.

The older, tan skinned, grey haired Latino man with glasses, walked up beside her and placed his left hand on her shoulder. "What is the matter, Lilly? You don't seem yourself lately; you've been skipping meals, declining help from others, and always wanting to be alone. We can all tell, and we're worried."

"I'm fine, Hector. They don't have to worry about me."

Hector nodded and leaned against the wall beside him. "I remember when my family first moved to America; I was so excited. My siblings were too but, after a month, we realized that we were the lower class and were going to be struggling. At twelve, I was doing yard-work for my neighbors; I know right? Pretty stereotypical. We needed the money, and I tried to do my part. At the end of each month, I raised a good deal of money but when I tried to give it to my father, he declined, he was too prideful to accept it. Before long, we got our electric and water cut, then our home went into foreclosure. For not letting anyone else help him, we all suffered a little bit."

Lilly considered this, "It's just pretty stressful, running this place. All the people showing up on our doorstep, tired, hungry, hurt... I just turn them all away."

"A person who can't sacrifice anything, cannot accomplish anything. Things will get better but until they do, we need you." He told her.

She smiled, "Thanks, Hector; I think I needed that."

"Now about that girl."

"What about her?" Lilly responded, agitation in her voice.

"Easy, easy. Has anyone ever told you how overzealous you can be? Anyway. What are you so afraid of? You've always spoken your mind and did what was necessary. But you can't talk to an old friend?" He questioned.

"I met her when this all started. Along with a few other people. I tried to run things how we do now, stay in one place, work on defenses, keep good supplies, and... turn people away when times got tough. There were a number of bad encounters, then someone stole our supplies and were giving them away to some assholes in the woods." She told him before staring off. "The reason I'm so afraid to face her is because, I killed one of the people in our group. Then I stole the RV. Lee isn't with her, I hope I didn't get him killed..."

"You can't hide from her, you lead this place. Besides, it's never too late to make amends for what you've done." Hector told her.

**Several hours later...**

Lilly approached the newly developed home where Edith told her Clementine would be. The day began to darken, but the porch-light was on. She stepped onto the porch, unsure. Last time she saw Clementine, she killed Carly and stole the RV. Lilly stood in front of the door, knuckles pointing at the door, unable to knock. She was too afraid to face her; what if she despised her? Or was afraid of her? Lilly pulled her hand back and was about to walk off when the door was pulled open from the inside. Clementine was about to step out when she noticed Lilly standing in front of the door, slightly startled.

"Um... Hi, Cle-"

Clementine latched onto Lilly, hugging her tightly.

Lilly was surprised by this but, returned the hug regardless. "Hey, kiddo."

"I can't believe you're really alive!" Clementine said.

Lilly bent down in front of her and grinned at her, "Clementine, I have to tell you something... I-"

Clementine stared at her, a warm smile on her face.

"I'm sorry for what I did... to Carly and then I just...left. It was a terrible thing to do and I have to carry it with me everyday." Lilly told her, her mouth beginning to quiver.

"Lee told me that you were just, 'sad' and, 'that can make people angry sometimes.'" Clementine told her.

"What else did he say?" Lilly asked, beginning to feel a comfort she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Then he told me, 'Bad things happen to everyone. And it's hard to keep being yourself after they do.'"

Lilly shut her eyes, letting tears roll down her face, "He doesn't hate me..."

Clementine rubbed her left arm, "Didn't..." She let out briefly.

"He's gone? Oh god... it's all my fault. I'm so sorry, Clementine." Lilly let out, grabbing Clementine by the shoulders.

"It was _my _fault." Clementine admitted.

"What? How?" Lilly asked.

Clementine shut her eyes, feeling close to tears. She shook her head, unable to speak anymore.

Lilly hugged her, "I used to think that... about dad."

"Larry?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah, that big mean old guy who used to yell a lot. I had it in my head that, If I were nicer to Kenny or maybe... I don't know... His heart condition either caught up to him or would have before long. But there's no way you got Lee killed, no matter what mistake you made." Lilly told her.

"I was with Kenny..." Clementine stated.

Lilly backed out of the hug. "Kenny?" She asked, as if she didn't know.

"He's alive. He brought me here but, he wasn't allowed to stay. I know you probably still hate him but, he's not a bad man." Clementine told her.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Things are really cracking down around here." Lilly scratched her head briefly.

"You want to meet AJ?" Clementine asked, wiping her face.

"Oh, who's that?" Lilly asked, playing ignorant.

Clementine motioned her head towards inside the house.

**Later that night...**

Lilly sat at the edge of her bed, only a single candle lit on the dresser in front of her. The warm given by the heating system She thought back to her conversation with Clementine, and Kenny.

_"You're not really feeling bad about making that piece of shit leave are you?"_ Larry's voice echoed through her head.

Lilly didn't respond.

_"You haven't forgotten what he did to me, have you?" _

"I'll never forget that." Lilly stated, a deep frown embedding it's way onto her face.

_"Then what, pumpkin? You did the smart thing, there are enough parasites around that still have to go! Where's the sense in bringing that guy in?"_

"Is that what you think this is? You think I _want _to let him in?" Lilly asked, beginning to snarl at her father's voice.

_"That sonuvabitch probably would have got that little girl killed before much longer. You should have shot him when you had the chance! Now he's out there probably stealing and killing again." _

"You're wrong, dad."

_"What's that now?" _

"He begged us to let them in, he cried for those kids, you've never got down and showed me that you loved me like he showed them! And I never wanted to admit it but, you got yourself killed. YOU LEFT ME! If you could have just EASED up on the others, and quit scaring everyone and getting worked up, you might have been safe, and you might have been CARED FOR! But, no, you _had,_ to beat on the stupid door and scream your head off and put strain on your heart. Looking back, I KNOW you were FUCKED! What was there to do? Call an ambulance? He was right, you would have turned and killed us all of it weren't for Kenny, it was all YOUR FAULT!" Lilly let out.

Once she finished her rant, she realized that the entire room was trashed. She didn't know what she was doing until just now. She slumped down onto the floor and stared at her now broken candle that was still lit but, mostly smashed below the bit of rope that still burned. She reached towards it and pressed on the twine with her thumb and index finger. Her room grew dark.

**The next morning...**

Lilly pulled her light gray fur-lined coat on and pulled on the lever to the front door. The cold metal door swung open, letting in a chilling breeze of air. She didn't mind the temperature; after being here for so long, she grew accustomed to it, or just conditioned. She stepped out of her two story home, built from giant storage containers, and quickly slammed it shut and locked it. When she turned away from her home, she took a good look at the large community of houses they custom built by themselves. There were several large yellow construction vehicles to her right. And several large wooden, or metal homes to her left. She began walking, alone. For the leader of a community with thousands of people she had to lead, she felt uncomfortably alone. This feeling quickly changed as a scrawny, pale-skinned young man with short blonde hair and a pair of round glasses was running towards her.

"Well, this should be good." She said loud enough for the young-man to hear.

"No! Not good! We have a situation." He informed her, nearly out of breath. He bent over, panting for air, and coughing.

"Out with it, Dean..." She demanded, impatiently.

"Front gate... People... Asked for you..." Dean let out gradually.

Lilly's face suddenly came alive, her expression changed completely. From bored and interested, to fearful and full of adrenaline. "Wait, what are you saying?"

"They have..." He tried, still catching his breath.

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion went off a block away, shaking the ground. The sounds of screams and yelling drowned out the sound of cold wind. After a few seconds, smoke began rising. Lilly looked to Dean briefly then to the smoke before she began sprinting in the direction of the smoke.


	3. Frozen Heat

Lilly ran through the snow covered field; past several homes. Her feet occasionally becoming embedded in the snow only slowed her down and adding to her sense of urgency and danger. As she neared the location of the explosion, she could see that part of the wall had been completely blown open. Metal beams and boards and plain chucks lie black and scattered in the snow. Just beside a wooden house which is now on fire and smoking heavily. Lilly panted and fell forward onto her knees in exhaustion.

"LILLY!" Edith screeched as she sprinted to her side.

"What's going on?!" Lilly asked, gripping Edith's arm tightly and pulling her near.

"That girl from yesterday is in THERE!" Edith pointed to the smoking house near the wall.

Lilly suddenly felt a second wind hit her; she bolted onto the porch and kicked down the door; smoke blew out the front door. Lilly shielded her eyes and coughed but simply covered her nose and mouth and darted through the front door blindly; into the darkness. A surge of heat hit her instantly. She noticed a large fire towards the left of the house. Other than that, all that was conceivable was broken wood and smoke engulfing the house.

"CLEM...!" She let out, continuing to cough as she jogged through the house. "CLEMENTINE!"

Suddenly, Lilly could hear the cries of an infant towards the back of the house.

"I'm here! Where ARE you!?" Lilly screeched, running towards the cries.

She reached the back room to see chunks of wood all along the floor and a fire just on the other side of the wall. She scanned the room rapidly until she found Clementine; she was unconscious and in light yellow pajamas; a plank of wood on her back. Beside her; a small white crib with the crying and now coughing baby. Lilly quickly scooped Clementine over her left shoulder then AJ into her right arm.

"You're going to be alright, Clem. I PROMISE." She cried as she darted back the way she came.

She bolted out the front door and hopped off of the porch, exhausted and in need of clean air she placed both the children down and began panting on her hands and knees. She looked up to see several members gathered away from the house.

"Lilly! Oh my god!" Hector exclaimed, running up towards her.

"Help the girl! I'm fine!" Lilly told him, picking up AJ and getting back to her feet.

Hector scooped Clementine up into his strong arms and dashed beside Lilly away from the smoking house. Several onlookers began rushing towards them with blankets and water and some medical supplies like, oxygen tanks and other assorted items. She watched as Clementine was laid onto a quilt and examined. Lilly felt herself become dizzy and fatigued. Hector took AJ as she was laid on her own quilt and the both of them were given oxygen masks. After some short time passed, Lilly began to feel herself adjusting back to normal. Though she still felt somewhat tired, her lungs no longer burned. She sat up and removed her mask and turned to look at Clementine and AJ who were still being tended to.

"Lilly." Edith spoke up.

"What, Edith?" Lilly asked, slight anger swelling up inside of her.

"You're needed at the front..." Edith told her hesitantly.

Lilly's eyes widened, sudden recollection hitting her. She stood and marched past everyone and approached the hole in the wall. It was several feet wide; the metal had bent inward. Chunks of metal rested in various locations among the snow. When she neared the damaged wall, she stepped through the rubble and inside the wall. On the other side stood a woman; she appeared as if waiting impatiently.

"Took you long enough." She taunted with a smile. She was pale skinned and had short black hair, a large black fur-coat and a 44. magnum in her left hand. Past her was a large tan colored tank with several other heavily armored vehicles beside all of them.

"Just who the fuck are you?" Lilly hissed.

"Oh! Quite the mouth on you, Lilly!" She mocked, leaning against the metal wall. "My name is... Mercy."

Lilly didn't speak. She glared at Mercy as she clenched her fists.

"Don't want to talk? Fine. Straight to the point then. I want several tons of food, water, gas, and anything else you think will make me and the rest of my people happy or I'll blow this goddamned wall to the ground along with everyone behind it." She threaten with a smile.

"You aren't getting anything from us." Lilly stated boldly.

Mercy's smile changed to a frown. "We'll see. You've got three days. Make 'em count." Mercy told her before turning and walking off away from the wall.

**Later that day...**

Lilly sat beside Clementine as she slept. She quickly peered over at the thin, dark-skinned nurse who was holding AJ and lightly rocking him. The room was painted light blue and was mostly empty, aside from the bed, various medical supplies and a pot of flowers Lilly got for Clem. She stared down at the floor in despair, and anger. After putting everyone at risk by breaking open their first line of defense, and hurting her friends, now that she-devil demands supplies for protection? Clementine slowly moaned awake and began to sit up.

"I'm sorry, Clementine." Lilly instantly apologized.

"It's okay... I had a good nap." She joked through her hoarse voice.

Lilly smiled at that.

"So what happened? I heard an explosion then, something hit me." Clementine inquired.

"There was... an attack. The wall is open right now but, we have teams working to block it off before the dead start to wander in our direction." Lilly non-vividly explained.

Clementine suddenly snapped herself up, "Is AJ okay?!" She asked, stress in her weak voice.

"The baby boy is doing _Just _fine, Miss. Clementine." The nurse spoke in a possibly Jamaican accent. "Here, see for yourself." The nurse approached the bed and laid the young boy down in Clementine's arms.

AJ looked up at Clementine before shutting his eyes rubbing his face against her arm.

"For once he's in a diaper and not some dirty blanket." Clementine observed with relief. "So, what're you going to do about the attack?" She inquired.

"Don't worry about that. I'm going to negotiate so this doesn't happen again." Lilly answered as she petted Clementine's hair.

Her hat was missing but, she had not yet noticed. Lilly planned to have the house cleaned and stripped until she could find the hat, hoping it wasn't lost to the flames.

"Now you get some rest, Clem." Lilly told her as she stood and approached the door directly ahead of the bed. "Thank you, Lydia."

"My pleasure, hon. I love working with children." The small tropical woman said.

Lilly nodded and opened the door and stepped outside, back into the cold, dark day. Hector was sitting against the wall waiting for her. They stood in silence for close to a minute. Letting the snow fall rapidly on top of them.

"What's the plan?" He inquired, breaking the silence.

Lilly turned away from him and bent down in front of a black guitar case. She unzipped it and pulled out a customized grey M4a1; a powerful automatic carbine machine gun. She loaded it with a loud click before standing back up.

"We kill every last one of those pieces of shit..." She told Hector, determination and anger in her voice.

Hector shrugged, "To the trucks then?" He asked before walking off.


	4. In the flesh

**Author's Note: There will be some, mature content in this chapter. Nothing too bad but, not entirely child-friendly. Well, then-again, how is The Walking Dead 'kid-friendly' in the first place? Read responsibly. **

Lilly walked through the armory full of several men and women preparing for the assault; the sounds of chatting and guns clicking filled the room as she made her way between everyone. The armory had several gun lockers lining the walls and crates full of ammo, and explosives. The large armory building is completely constructed out of massive storage containers; welded and separated into a large rectangular shape before being furnished and stocked. She made her way to a somewhat rusted steel locker and pulled it open before pulling out a large black bullet-proof vest and quickly slipping her right arm through, then the left one. She pulled each of the three straps on the front through each of their respective couplings. She then reached down to the bottom of the locker and picked up a pair of binoculars fit for night-use before turning and walking back to the door in which she came from.

"Alright, everyone hurry up; we don't know how long it'll take to locate these people so I want to get out there within the next half-hour!" She announced just before heading back outside.

Outside; three large green tanks, larger and ultimately heavier than the one used against them in the earlier attack were lined up in front of the armory along with seven green Humvee jeeps. Men and women wearing large winter jackets of various darker colors, green, brown, blue, or black scattered around the vehicles; refueling, reloading or simply sitting inside them and waiting to leave. The tanks each had large open ports and could hold over a dozen people each. The tanks they were up against are main battle tanks used by the american government which, held progressively less people and less armor but, were more mobile than the Russian designed vehicles they were using.

"Lilly, I have our head-count." Hector informed her, running up beside her right-flank with a clipboard.

She took a hold of the clipboard and read the names of each individual on the list. There was a number above the list, 82.

"They all volunteered as soon as I mentioned your decision for a counter offensive." Hector informed her.

"Let's hope this list doesn't get shorter." She said just as a cold wind blew past her, pulling her hair with it.

She handed Hector the clipboard before she took out a black hair tie from her left jean pocket and pulled her hair back and began forming a ponytail.

"Yeah, these are all good people but, they aren't all coming home." He added, his tone low.

"'A person who cannot sacrifice anything, cannot accomplish anything.' right?" She said just as she finished her ponytail. "This could also mean a slightly better food situation..."

"Lilly."

"I'm just trying to make the best out of a bad situation; I didn't mean it like that. You know that." She told him sternly, slightly with an attitude.

Edith walked out of the armory and up to Lilly and Hector, a hand-held radio in her left hand. "Everyone is all set; I'll be setting up a line of defense along the front wall... in case you're... unsuccessful."

Lilly snatched the radio, "If we don't return and you manage to kill off Mercy and her people, take charge and... look after Clem."

Edith stared in silence for a brief moment, "Yes, ma'am." She said, clasping her hands together and resting them on her lower stomach, as if unsure if she could carry out the request.

Lilly stepped forward and gave her a firm hug, catching her off-guard, "I'm serious, I'll haunt you forever." She said with a quick laugh.

Everyone began loading up and shutting their doors. The tank's rear door began quickly rising and shutting loudly. The sound of their engines coming on was enough to keep a couple blocks of people up. Lilly let go of Edith and motioned for the wall before running up to her Humvee with Hector. She pulled open the driver's side door and got in, slamming the door shut in the same motion. Hector got in on the opposite side. Lilly turned the keys, starting the Humvee just as he shut his door. She pulled on a lever, moving it to 'D' before slowly pushing the gas pedal, driving up ahead, slowly, through the dark cold night, taking the lead. After a short time she made her way past the large crane they had used in so many different construction jobs. The other Humvee's followed a few car lengths behind her, then the three tanks just behind. Lilly briefly fixed her eyes on her assault rifle on the dash in front of Hector before looking back at the lighted snow road, illuminated from the headlights.

"Quite the operation we've got here, huh?" A woman behind her inferred.

Her voice was high pitched; she spoke quickly as well. Lilly already felt annoyed and she just met this girl.

"We've got the tanks, the big guns, the body armor, grenades, jeeps, and probably ninjas for all I know! Ha!" The girl joked.

"Do you think this is a game? People are going to die tonight, and you're going to be a part of that." Lilly barked at the girl.

"Easy, Lilly." Hector told her. "And yes, people will die tonight and making light of the situation is not appropriate at this time."

"I'm sorry; just trying to ease the tension, you know?" The girl added.

Lilly sighed before decelerating near their vehicle exit. She came to a full stop. After a couple of seconds, all the vehicles were lined up a few feet apart. Suddenly the large gate began rising. The sound of chains and gears turning was quite audible to all at this time. Soon the giant metal gate was fully raised. Lilly started the Humvee up again, leading her people out into the darkness. She turned left as she made it outside the wall and began driving along the wall towards the front where the attack happened. Her radio screeched on,

_"All's well back here. You can speed us up to 30; the tanks can handle it." _A man informed her.

Lilly grabbed her radio as she sped up some, "Roger that."

**Three hours later...**

The convoy made their way through the trees, following the tank and truck tracks left by Mercy's people. Hector was staring through the night-vision binoculars; he'd alert her if he could see the enemy trucks. They wanted to ensure they had the element of surprise on their side. They drove in silence. The sound of the Humvee vibrating was the only sound made.

"Think we're getting close, Lil?" The girl in the back asked.

"I hope so." Lilly answered.

"Ha. So, you must really want to kill people, huh?" She joked.

"What's your name?" Lilly asked the girl whose face she had yet to see.

"Jessica." She answered.

"Well, Jessica I cannot wait until we reach these people because, truth be told, I _do _want to kill them. For the safety of our community." Lilly explained.

"So, no emotions about what we're doing? This is just you doing your duty to protect everyone?" Jessica pried.

Lilly didn't respond.

Without anticipation, Hector snatched the radio from it's charger between them and brought it up to his mouth, "Alright, we have a clear visual on a large moving truck. Everyone slow to a halt."

Lilly did so, slowing down to 5mph and parking close to the right most side of the trail. Another Humvee parked on the opposite side, paralleled to her, a ten foot gap between them. Lilly grabbed her radio.

"I want all ground troops out of the tanks but, climb out of the top hatch on the gun; the rear doors are too loud." Lilly added.

_"Roger"_

_"Copy"_

_"Got it"_

The only light they had at this point was moon-light. Hector handed Lilly her high-powered assault rifle. Soon dozens of people gathered near Lilly and Hector; all armed to the teeth and quiet.

"Okay, split into two teams. One with me, and the other with Hector. Like we discussed before. If you're 'A' you're with me, if not, you're with him. They don't know we're here so we want to take them from both sides. Any questions?" Lilly asked.

No-one spoke.

"Good, then lets..."

Suddenly a thin, bald walker began limping towards them from behind the Humvee, moaning as is the usual.

"It's fine. Everything's fine." Lilly said before pulling a knife from her side and chucking it at the walker, smacking it straight between the eyes.

It fell back with a light thud.

Lilly walked towards the left tree-line, followed by maybe thirty-five people; if everyone got the message right. She walked slowly and cautiously between the trees, moving in the direction predicted to lead to Mercy and all who follow her. After another anxious two minutes of stalking in formation; the rest of the trucks, and the tan colored tanks were in sight. Lilly raised her hand, signaling for them to stop and get down. All took to one knee and raised their guns at the trucks just a few meters away.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out on the other-side of the trucks; where Hector was supposed to be. The rapid flashing of assault rifles lit up the night across from them.

"Shit. Okay, everyone-"

Before she could finish, and explosion went off in several meters in front of her and was followed with a tank shell flying towards her group, hitting a tree and exploding with a bright orange inferno. The tree crunched and cracked before falling and hitting the earth with a loud boom, followed by screams pain.

Lilly grabbed her radio as she laid on the ground, "They know we're here! Send in the tanks! Now!"

Shots were exchanged on both sides; Lilly's group moved desperately for cover behind the trees and they tried to return fire. Lilly stood and ran to the tree closest to the tank that just fired. She held her gun in her left hand as she pulled a grenade from her right pocket and placed it on the ground before gripping the gun again and aiming at the half dozen people firing on her group from this side. She pulled the trigger, offloading several shots; she managed to hit and take down one man.

The others ran for cover behind the tank. Another shell flew past the tree Lilly was hiding behind and exploded in the distance. Lilly utilized the situation; she dropped the gun and picked up her grenade before she sprinted towards the tank. She neared the tank's gun as she pulled the grenade apart before jumping and tossing it down the gun's muzzle.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." She said as she sprinted away from the tank, bullets whizzing by her from both sides.

At this point, her scattered, wounded group was to her left, Mercy's group was to her right. The tank exploded, followed by the screams of several people behind her. Gunshots continued to ring out behind her as she put distance between her and the battlefield.

As Lilly ran, she felt a stabbing pain in her right leg. She had been shot but, hadn't noticed until now. It went through the side of her calf. She bailed behind a tree, many meters away from the fight. She peered past the tree as she held her leg in pain.

It was a chaotic sight; her three tanks exchanging fire with two other tan tanks. Bodies littered in the snow. Trees on fire around them. Guns barking back and forth with their rapid flashes of light. Walkers approaching from different directions. Hell on earth.

"Oh God... what have I gotten us into?" She whispered as she laid against the tree watching the whole ordeal.

"Good question." A women stated.

Lilly's eyes widened; she turned to face the voice but was met with a kick to the forehead; smacking her head against the tree. Everything instantly became blurry for her. She felt herself being dragged away from the tree by her ankles.

"It's me! You're friend, Mercy. We've got a new, 'arrangement' we're going to be working out." She told her as she got on top of the disoriented woman's legs; pinning them down with her weight.

"What...?" Lilly asked before being met with a jab to the eye.

"I told you, tons of supplies. Not tons of metal. Now you're going to be sorry for crossing me." Mercy told her, spite in her voice.

"Get away... from me..." Lilly said before she felt her belt being fiddled with.

This surprised Lilly; she tried to get up but was met with yet another blow to the face, knocking her head back into the snow.

"Play nice, Lilly." Mercy said before laughing demonically.

Lilly felt her zipper come down and Mercy's hands on each of her pocket's before her pants were slid down her legs and towards her ankles. Lilly then heard the sound of a knife being flipped open before Mercy grabbed her neck and squeezed tightly, digging her nails into her throat.

"How's the rack, Lilith?" Mercy asked before snapping one of the straps of her body armor with the knife.

"I'll kill you...!" Lilly threatened.

"I promise, before long, you'll be crying for 'Mercy'" She said before laughing uncontrollably.

Another explosion went off in the distance.

**Back at Wellington...**

Clementine laid with AJ in her arms. He was sleeping calmly. Lydia was sitting in a steel chair beside the bed, reading a small black book. The room was so plain, and so boring to Clementine.

"Can you go get Lilly for me?" Clementine requested, her voice still hoarse from the fire.

"Afraid not, child. She's out somewhere. She'll be back in the morning I'm sure." Lydia answered, without looking up from her book.

She laid without speaking for several seconds. She eyed the book, "What are you reading?" She inquired.

The woman let out a brief but calming chuckle, "This is the bible, sweetheart."

"The bible?"

"Yeah, you ever read any of it?" Lydia asked.

"Not really. I have friends who have." Clementine answered with a smile.

"Yep. Thought so. Children don't have the time for this anymore. Now more than two years ago... want me to tell you one of it's stories?"

"Alright." She said, placing AJ beside her and turning on her side while supporting her head with her arm.

"Okay, so this is the story of Job; a hard working man whom god blessed well. He had many children and many animals..."

**Several minutes later... In the woods...**

Lilly began crawling away. She pulled her undershirt back down as best she could and shivered as a cold breeze blew past her. She got back to her feet, one soaked in blood from her leg wound, and began limping away.

"Was it as good for you as it was for me, baby?" Mercy taunted as she casually followed a staggering, struggling, nearly-nude Lilly.

At this point the gunfight had ended, fire and walkers were all that was left. She scanned the snow for any weapon that could help her.

"How's about you pull those tightie whities down again and we have a round two eh? Or-" Mercy continued to taunt.

"I'm going to kill you! You freak!" Lilly yelled back before falling back into the snow.

Mercy ran up to her and gripped her hair, using her other hand to squeeze the right side of her face and force her to make eye contact with her. "This is all on you, Lil. Look at all the people you've sent to their deaths. How many do you think are left?"

Lilly frowned and spit in her face. Mercy dropped her and pulled out her knife.

"Don't want to play anymore? Hardly seems fair since I did all the work." Mercy taunted once more as she kicked her; Lilly flopped back onto her back from the momentum of the kick.

"Just shut up! Kill me already! You bitch!" Lilly yelled as she stared up at her, enraged.

"If you insis-" She said before turning and running away, spooked by something in the woods.

A shot fired, Mercy fell forward and into the snow covered ground, motionless.

Lilly stared all around her. "Hello? Who's there?"

A dark blanket was tossed to her; she wrapped herself up in it before turning to meet eye-to-eye with her rescuer; the light from one of the nearby fires illuminated off the right side of his body. He was wearing a green jacket and blue jeans. He had grey hair and a thick grey beard. His left eye was covered with a white bandage.

"Kenny?"

"I didn't see nothing. I promise. Now let's get outta here." He said before offering her a hand up.

**Author's Note: Come on now... The review button's right there!**


	5. Code-UE

Kenny supported Lilly's right leg as the made their way through the devastation; he occasionally raised his pistol to put down an incoming walker or two. They had to take care as they crossed over the littering of bodies; they navigated around them if possible. It pained her to see all these people lying broken and bloody in the cold. Regardless, they pressed on. The orange light from the burning trees beside the now un-salvageable, tanks aided in their perception as they made their way back to the trail of Humvee's. The cold much more severe now than earlier today; Lilly shivered uncontrollably, her exposed feet numb from the snow; to think, that she thought she were used to the deep cold.

"Just what in god's name happened out here?" Kenny asked as they nearly reached the open trail.

"A war..." She answered vaguely, in too much pain from her leg and too cold to give a better explanation.

She became increasingly weak, most likely due to the accumulated blood loss. Kenny stopped them and reached behind her knees before lifting her up and carrying her. She winced from her leg wound as she was lifted out of the snow.

"I gotcha. Now, where are we headed?" He asked as he made his way towards the Humvee's maybe, about a block of walking distance away.

"Just follow the tracks, it'll lead back home." She told him, through her shivering.

He hauled her off towards the lining of vehicles but, as he neared the closest one, the headlights came on.

"Someone made it..." Lilly said, pleased.

The two left hand doors slowly swung open and a figure emerged from the vehicle.

"Hello...?" Kenny called, stopping just in front of the Humvee. "Are you friendly or...?"

The figure didn't respond. Kenny stood, staring with uncertainty.

"It's me! Lilly!" She groaned, her leg causing her extreme discomfort; it was evident in her tone as she called out.

"Lilly?" Hector's voice cut through the darkness past the headlights; diminishing all fear as he ran towards her and Kenny, into the light.

"How many are gone?" She asked as Hector took her into his arms and turned back towards the Humvee.

"All of them." He told her before lying her inside the backseat and shutting the door.

Lilly grabbed the blanket she was using to keep herself warm and began tying it around her leg. Hector got in the driver's seat and shut his door. Kenny got in the seat beside him,

"Where we headed? Wellington?" Kenny inquired.

Lilly sat back, squeezing her left knee in pain from her wound.

"Thank you for the assist, stranger." Hector said, changing gears.

Lilly wanted nothing more than to go home, and hope all will be well. She and Kenny had much to discuss; about their pasts and about all that's happened recently. No-one would have any qualms about him joining the community... after all they just lost close to a hundred people...

Hector began turning, to head back home.

"Wait!" Kenny yelled, grabbing Hector's arm.

"What is it?" Hector asked.

"There's a girl out there, see?" He asked, pointing over the dash and all.

A slim figure of a girl was running towards them. Hector lifted a nine-millimeter pistol and cocked it, preparing for the worst. The trio watched as the unarmed girl neared the glow of the headlights, revealing a blonde, or rather a dirty blond young woman wearing a sweat-shirt and heavy green winter pants; her clothes were covered in blood. She ran up to the driver's side window and knocked on it; Hector lowered his window,

"Come on! hop in the back, quickly!" He demanded.

She nodded and moved to pull open the door to the seat directly behind him. Lilly painfully slid her way over to the seat to her right so the girl could get in. Once she shut her door and sat still and quiet in the dark Humvee, Hector resumed turning around.

"So, what's your name?" Lilly asked as she held her leg.

"That's like, the second time you've asked me that. We drove to that together." The girl responded.

"Right, Jessica." Lilly recognized her voice from earlier. "How did you manage to make it and while everyone else is gone?"

"Wait, are you naked?" Jessica inquired, slight shock in her tone.

Lilly didn't answer that. Jessica shrugged.

"...Well, I kept my head down, and didn't manage to get shot the whole time." Jessica admitted. "We lost a lot of people back there... I mean, it's just, I hope we did the right thing."

Lilly turned away, guilt creeping into her mind.

"We did the right thing. Their deaths were not in vain." Hector stated.

"God, what are we going to tell the others?" Jessica asked.

There was a brief silence.

"The truth." Hector said.

**After sunrise...**

The Humvee continued to vibrate as they continued through the ever lasting trees. They were running progressively close to E. Though, still somewhat dark, the sun had begun making it's way over the horizon, all in the vehicle were relatively visible. Lilly felt the burn from her leg, now cauterized and bandaged. She kept herself tightly covered in the blood stained blanket. Jessica slept, her head against her respective window. Hector and Kenny stared patiently ahead as they all sat in silence. Kenny turned his head to the right, eyeing the wounded woman behind him in his peripherals past his head-rest.

"We're off to Wellington, right?" Kenny asked.

Lilly rubbed her tired eyes, reaching one of her arms carefully out of part of the blanket, "A lot of people call it that..."

He nodded, "So I've heard... have you run into Clementine in there?"

"I have."

He smiled, "So, how is she? and the baby? Can I see them?" He asked, eagerness in his voice.

"Since we lost eighty-three people, I'd say we have an opening..." Lilly said.

"Christ, that many huh? Never thought people dying would get me in there with Clem." He said, shaking his head and turning forward.

"Hey, Kenny." Lilly said.

"Yeah?"

"I heard you out there with Clem before... I was surprised, and shocked... mostly with myself and how wrong I was about you. I've never seen anyone show that kind of..."

Kenny turned slightly, listening intently.

"Not since... Lee." She said, almost as a whisper.

"Nobody'll replace him." Kenny told her before turning back forward.

The Humvee made it's way up the hill before revealing that they had indeed arrived; the giant wall before them confirmed this.

Lilly felt a sudden rush of anxiety; not because of her lack of clothing but, her lack of returning vehicles. How does she explain these losses?

The Humvee cruised it's way around the wall until they reached the large vehicle entrance off to the side; it immediately began rising; most likely at the sight of their arrival from one of the many lookout windows. Hector turned the wheel and steered into their settlement. Edith could be seen just inside, her arms crossed, her face baring concern; many survivors had gathered by the entrance, all began exhibiting looks of shock at the sight of the lone Humvee. Lilly shut her eyes as her friend, Edith stared at her. They parked, Hector was the first to step out, then Kenny. Jessica woke up at the sound doors being slammed shut in front of her, startling her; she shook her head and stepped out. Lilly sighed, and made sure she was covered well and pulled on the handle, and stepped out.

"Where's the others?" A man demanded.

"Are they dead?" A woman asked.

"Are they on their way but, you guys just got here first, yes?" Another man asked.

Voices began rising as answers did not surface. Hector raised a hand, asking for quiet.

"Listen to me! We indeed had a confrontation, it ended in both sides being almost completely decimated!" He announced.

Several gasps were heard before cries began.

Lilly began walking away, hoping to not have to witness all this.

"This is their fault! They're the ones who killed our people! We need a reform!" An elderly woman exclaimed, pointing at Lilly and hector.

Lilly stopped walking and bowed her head in shame.

"This is an outrage! My wife went out there, in YOUR CARE! Now she's DEAD!" An enraged man yelled.

The crowd began raising fists and yelling hate towards the exhausted pair of leaders as the vehicle gate began slowly descending downward.

"Jessica!" A young girl's voice called out from within the crowd of people, suddenly bringing about momentary silence.

Jessica turned to the voice as a shorter girl with very bright blond hair and penetrating blue eyes rushed towards her. The two embraced before all-else.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Kelsey..." Jessica said, petting the girl's hair.

Hector stepped towards the pairing, "You see? This is what all those people died for! To preserve their family and friends! To preserve us all! This is nothing new, it's always been this way! I didn't seen any of you offering to fight for your home! So, don't let their deaths be in vain by letting this destroying what they all fought and DIED for!" Hector let out, slightly frustrated.

With that, the crowd slowly dissipated and began making off in different directions, sorrow still in their faces.

"Thank you, Hector..." Lilly said, glad the crowd was able to come to reason but, she knew the pain they were in regardless.

"So, is it alright if I go and see Clem?" Kenny asked.

_"Edith! Edith!" _A female voice buzzed through her radio.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Edith answered, raising the radio to her mouth.

Lilly and Hector stared at Edith with concern and anticipation. Jessica began walking off with her twin-sister, holding hands. Kenny stood, confused.

_"There's a Humvee parked just outside the gate; I think we may have a code-UE." _She informed her.

"Oh shit! We have a breach!" Lilly let out, nearly losing her blanket as she began quickly walking off towards the wall.

"Who could it be? Mercy?" Hector asked as he followed her.

Kenny too began following, unsure as to what was going on.

"It can't be, I saw Kenny kill her!" Lilly frantically stated.

After all that's happened, now their going to sound the alarm that there's an intruder among-st them. Events began spiraling worse and worse as time stretched on.

**Author's Note: Really sorry about the late update! I know, I'm a douche. I'll try to stick to noon on Saturday. There were some personal family crisis's going on so on Friday I was unable to finish this chapter; I haven't even revised it yet! So, I hope it's not too bad. Then all day yesterday I was busy with my friends, I know right? Freaking social life... Anyway, thanks for reading this. It means a lot to me.**


	6. Mercy for the Leader

**Author's Note: Just finished this on Friday. I have to be many miles away from my home tomorrow so, I won't be able to revise and edit. I hope its not too bad. **

Mercy peered past the white wooden wall on the porch she was standing on, several loud alarms could be heard carrying sound out through the settlement. Dozens of people advanced towards a common direction; most likely to make searching for her easier. She turned and walked inside the house before shutting the door. She cringed slightly, her left shoulder still burning from being shot. She found that catching her breath was becoming a challenge. She turned away from the plain white door to face the rest of the house. A wooden table, along with chairs to match stood in the center of the main room. Books, clothes, boxes, and even tools were scattered throughout the room.

"How boring... with all these resources, they should at least be allowed some entertainment." She inferred before approaching the stairs on the opposite side of the front door and began quickly running up them.

Once she reached the top, she was met with a hallway with four doors and a window at the end of the hall.

"Why is everything so white? Isn't there enough snow here?" She ranted to herself as she slowly made her way down the hall.

The sound of the front door slamming open down stairs startled her. A woman began barking orders, irritating her.

"Hello!? Is there anyone in here?! If there is, please exit and come outside, there's a public safety situation!"

Mercy cringed at the sound of her voice, shutting her eyes and gripping the sides of her head.

"I'm heading up! Please, if there's anyone up there, tell me now!" She called as she began making her way up the stairs.

Bang, bang, bang, bang... Her footsteps echoed through the house as she elevated her way towards Mercy. As of now, she could not handle much more of this woman's insolence. She took a pair of steps back, and hopped over the railing. The woman looked up, she had a pistol in her hand. Mercy landed on the woman and clasped her arms around her upper midsection. The unsuspecting woman with dark skin and short hair, wearing a dark green jumpsuit fell back as Mercy forced her back down the stairs. She landed with a loud thud, taking the full force from hitting the floor along with Mercy's added weight. The woman laid in a odd position on the floor, her legs turned while her back flat. She looked up at the woman standing over with a face of disdain.

"It's you... the intruder..." She stated weakly.

Mercy smiled, and got up off of the woman. She tried reaching for her gun but, it was just inches out of her reach. It was possible that her back was badly damaged, and her legs no longer worked. Mercy began slowly orbiting around the injured woman, stepping over tools and books alike; she looked down at her prey as she circled her, waiting to see what she'd do next. Mercy had a good idea what it might be.

"Help-!"

Mercy planted her boot firmly into the struggling woman's throat; she gasped as she felt her windpipe being blocked forcefully. She turned her head and looked down at the struggling woman, devoid of emotion.

"Pl-please... stop..." The woman let out, her voice gasping and quiet.

Mercy grinned devilishly, "They don't call me, 'Mercy' for nothing..." She said before turning her leg in one violent jerk, snapping the woman's neck with a loud crack.

Her eyes glazed over, and her mouth laid open and drooling. Mercy moved her foot away from her now crooked neck and squatted beside her.

"...You're welcome..." She whispered before edging closer to the dead woman's face and planting a kiss on her forehead.

She then proceeded to grab a hammer from beside her and smack it down on the woman's forehead; blood splashed all along Mercy's shirt and dripped down the woman's forehead. She pulled the hammer out and tossed it back into the pile of tools from whence it came.

Mercy had an opportunity before her; she could take this woman's suit and slip by as just another security officer until she could reach her goal. The woman had a black bullet proof vest, a black utility belt, and a heavy pair of combat boots.

**Minutes later...**

Mercy stepped out of the house and shut the door. She examined herself, enjoying the new outfit.

"Find anybody in there?" A light-skinned, semi-long haired brunette man in a matching uniform asked from the large, snow covered space between this house and the house across from her, he was holding some sort of black sub-machine gun with a curved magazine.

"No, sir! I can confirm that the premises is secure!" She told him, standing at attention.

The man raised a brow, confused, "Uh, yeah... thanks..." He said before trailing off.

Mercy made her way down the steps of the porch and through the large, post-apocalyptic built city. She passed numerous guards, and houses, and cars, and construction vehicles. Nobody suspected her. She blended perfectly. As long as she avoided Lilly, she should be fine. It pained her to have to hide from someone she had grown so infatuated by but, the time for their reunion would have to come at a later time.

"She'll notice me later, I'm sure of it..." She whispered to herself as she continued on her way.

**In the infirmary...**

Clementine stared down at the pages in the black bible Lydia had lent her. She squinted down at the small letters. She couldn't understand half of what she was reading but, she decided to keep at it while Lydia walked back and forth in the well-lit room, cradling and lightly rocking AJ as she did so. The alarm could be faintly heard inside the room.

"Lydia." Clementine said.

"Another question, huh, child?" She responded.

"How come Job had to go through all that stuff?" She inquired.

"Because God intended to prove his point to Satan that he would always be faithful to him." She answered.

"But, why torture him or put him through all that just to prove a point?"

Lydia stopped and turned to face her from across the room. "God didn't torture him, Satan did."

"But, why did God let him do it? Why didn't he just keep protecting him?"

"It's... think about the world we live in. He protects us in small ways like, this settlement. It's also been hard but, I believe this is all a part of his test. He loves you, so you're still with us because of him."

Clementine shook her head, "I'm alive because someone found me, and took care of me. And when he died protecting me, someone else looked after me. I owe my life to my friends..." She said, her eyes appearing mournful.

Lydia walked to the bed beside her and carefully handed AJ down to her before patting the young girl's shoulder. She opened her mouth, as if to speak but, was cut off by the sound of the door opening, and wind being let in. The both of them turned to face their unexpected visitor.

Kenny stood at the door. Clementine's face lit up with joy.

"Kenny!" She yelled, almost springing out of bed.

Kenny smiled, and walked towards her, "How you feelin'?"

She looked down at AJ who was staring at Kenny blankly. "A lot better now."

The two exchanged a smiles. Lydia watched from her chair beside the bed, grinning.

"Can I hold 'em?" Kenny requested.

Clementine nodded, as if she would have denied him. She lifted him and placed him in Kenny's hands. The old fisherman held him up, delight on his face before holding him close to him.

"We made the right choice..." Kenny whispered, holding the boy, his voice somewhat fatigued. "So, where's my hat? You didn't lose it, did you?" He jokingly asked.

"It was in the house, before the fire." Clementine told him, slightly moping.

"Fire? Are you alrig-?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She answered.

"Well, what happened? Why was there a fire?"

"All I know is what Lilly told me. She's the one who got me out of there." She answered him with a smile.

Kenny's eyes widened, "Well, I'll be damned... I thought I had her all figured out... Anyway, I guess that means you lost your hat too, huh?"

"It's... really just a hat." She inferred.

"It wasn't just some dirty old thing; you've had that thing since before Lee." He told her.

The two looked at one another for several seconds before Clementine reached over and hugged his stomach tightly, burying her face into it. "I thought I'd never see you again..." She told him.

He held the infant with one hand before reaching down and patting her back with the other, "That's exactly what I thought..."

Suddenly the sound of the door opening once more paused their moment and diverted all attention to their visitor.

A women, with short black hair, a guard uniform, and a 44. magnum in her hand stood at the door. She held the door open with her left hand as she glared at the trio, her eyes appearing somewhat animal-like. She raised the gun at Clementine. Kenny quickly placed AJ down before darting towards her.

"HEY! WHAT'RE YOU DO-" He yelled, rushing her.

She simply redirected her aim and fired a shot into his left knee.

"Ough...!" He let out in pain as he fell forward onto one knee.

"Kenny!" Clementine called out with concern.

AJ began crying loudly. Clementine held him close, trying to comfort him as she began tearing up at the sight of her friend in peril.

Mercy stared at her downed opponent, his knee bleeding severely and yet, he still attempted to pursue her. He slowly rose from the ground. Mercy took aim a second time and fired yet another shot, hitting his other knee. He fell to his side, screaming out in agony, yelling over AJ's screams. Lydia had been rummaging through a drawer beside her, and had pulled out a small black revolver. She raised it at Mercy,

"I'll shoot!" She threatened.

Mercy raised her hands, pistol still in hand before quickly taking aim and kneeling in the same motion. Two shots were fired. A hole formed in the wall past Mercy. She was not hit. Lydia, on the other hand, had fallen back, her face unrecognizable as she lay motionless against the wall, which was now coated in blood.

"Please! Just stop!" Clementine pleaded, her and AJ sobbing uncontrollably.

Mercy grinned before aiming at Kenny once more, "I'll stop, very soon." She said as she pulled the trigger once more.

Kenny gasped and spasm-ed before rolling over onto his stomach; blood began slowly flowing out from underneath him. He twitched, and coughed.

"NO! Just stop it! PLEASE!" Clementine demanded before quickly lying AJ down and hopping out of bed with her long white hospital robe.

"Yes, right this way!" She taunted as the girl advanced towards her.

Clementine raised her fist; it was instantly gripped and pulled. Mercy forced her over Kenny and out of the door with her, leaving a distressed infant behind.

"Let. Me. GO!" Clementine demanded, fighting her attacker's grasp to no avail as she was forced out into the cold.

Once several yards away from the infirmary; a continuous side-by-side series of similar small buildings, a set of shots were fired, snow flung up into the air from the force of the shots. Mercy turned, bent down and wrapped her arm around Clementine's neck before forcing her cold magnum against her head.

Jessica and Kelsey, the two young golden haired girls stood with their standard nine millimeter pistols aimed. Lilly, Hector, and Edith were rushing to the scene, all dressed in heavy body armor and carrying large automatic weapons.

Mercy evaluated the situation, finding herself in a large open area. It would be easy for someone to just take a shot at her from behind.

"Let her go!" Kelsey demanded.

Lilly, Hector, and Edith took position beside the girls, also taking aim.

"Nice work, girls." Hector told them briefly. "What'll it take to ensure the girl's safety?" He called out to Mercy.

"We're willing to let you go, with a good bag of supplies, we promise." Edith added.

"Again?" She said, indicating she had been denied access into Wellington before.

"Well, name your price!" Lilly demanded.

Mercy looked off, as if contemplating before looking back to the group. "I want you." She told her, focusing on Lilly.

**Author's Note: Hey, ClementineTWDG, have you figured out the problem with you account yet? Been missing our random, crazy conversations lately. Could really use 'em. Feeling very down lately.**

**Anyway, I'm not sure how long I intend to make this story. I have a couple of other ideas for this. Thanks for reading, you guys.**


	7. Exiled

The cold wind whistling as it carried snow down to Earth. Clementine was visibly shaking, either from the cold, or from how close she was to a gun. Lilly, Hector, Edith, and the girls stood with their guns raised, all unsure how to respond to such a broad request.

"Lilly! Help Kenny! She shot him!" Clementine yelled as Mercy restrained her.

Lilly turned to Jessica and Kelsey, "Go get help! We can handle this."

The two young girls nodded before sprinting off.

"So, what do you say, Lil? You want to go see the world with me?" Mercy asked once more.

Hector to her right, Edith to her left, neither one speaking up for this decision.

"Drop your gun, let her go, and we'll drop ours." Lilly said.

"That doesn't sound like a credible answer to me! What's to ensure my safety?" Mercy asked.

"I'll swap as your hostage!" Lilly offered.

Mercy laughed, "That does make sense but, I don't think I need this hostage anyway." Suddenly she dropped her gun into the snow and freed Clementine whom ran as soon as she was freed.

"What?" Edith whispered in disbelief.

Mercy stood confidently, "Are you going to keep your promise? Or are you going to kill me?"

No-one spoke. Hector began to slowly approach her, his gun still aimed at her. She frowned.

"The folks at Wellington really don't have much honesty, do they? Why do you actually refuse entry to people?" Mercy questioned as she reached for something in her bulletproof vest.

"Stop! I want your hands up! Don't make us kill you!" Hector threatened.

"Be careful what you wish for, lap-dog!" Mercy used her left hand to open her bullet-proof vest, revealing several grenades, taped to the inside of the vest and all tied to a series of strings, tied to a key-ring. "A friend showed me this trick; he was a fun guy. I wonder where he is now..."

Mercy began slowly walking towards the group. Each slow step, causing more and more stress to build up. Running wouldn't give them enough time to get clear but, she was only after Lilly.

Lilly turned to a shivering Clementine, "Clem, get out of here, now!" She demanded.

"But-"

"Now!" She urged, slightly shoving the girl before turning back to the mad woman.

Her eyes were more animal than human, a light blue at this point. Pupils fully dilated as she grinned sisterly. Lilly looked to Edith, then Hector; she dropped her gun and approached Mercy, limping from her leg wound.

"Wait, what are you doing? Lilly?" Edith asked, grabbing her arm only to be pushed away.

"Just get out of here and tell everyone to stand down." Lilly said.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Hector asked.

"Just do, what I say." Lilly said, complete seriousness in her voice.

Edith and Hector looked to each other then back to Lilly.

"Come on, Edith." Hector said, grabbing her arm and running away and towards the city with her.

Mercy neared Lilly, keeping one hand on the key ring; ensuring there were no nasty surprises for her. She offered her left hand to Lilly.

Lilly swallowed her pride and took Mercy's hand.

Mercy let out a small chuckle, delighted as they walked together, and towards their uncertain destination beyond the wall.

Minutes later, they stood before the large metallic exit. Civilian onlookers watched as their leader was forced out of her own home, potentially out to die. No-one smiled but, Mercy.

The gates slowly swung open, screeching as metal scratched on metal-gears. Mercy turned to the gathered crowd. All staring with scorn.

"Do none of you find this ironic? The woman who forced so many to leave is now leaving herself!" She taunted before turning back to the gate and walking through the wall and outside.

Lilly stayed silent, embarrassed and afraid.

**Many hours later...**

Lilly and Mercy sat on opposite sides of the fire Lilly was forced to build at gun-point. Trees and darkness all around them, beyond where the orange light of the fire couldn't reach. The snow-covered ground making for an uncomfortable experience. As if Lilly could actually be comfortable in the presence of a woman such as her. She thought back to all the lives lost throughout this whole ordeal. She thought back to all the danger Clementine had been in, having only been in her care for a short time. She wondered what had become of Kenny as well; is he okay? Is he on an operating table? Did he turn? She'll never know if she can't find a way to get away from this woman.

"What happens now? Are you going to kill me?" Lilly asked, glaring at her.

Mercy smiled, "Do you _want_ me to kill you? Loosen up, will you?" She said with a wink as she waved her magnum above her head.

"What is wrong with you?" Lilly questioned, shaking her head with disgust.

"Whatever do you mean? There's nothing wrong with me. At least in comparison to what _you've_ done." Mercy told her.

"And what have I done? Deny people access because of a food shortage?" Lilly defended.

"Call it what you want, Lilith." Mercy said, yawning. "But don't think waiting until I'm asleep will do you much good either; if that's your next move. I haven't slept in weeks."

"So, what do you want with me then?"

"Oh, quit your bitching already. Did anyone ever tell you how much of a bitch you are? Why not crack a story or two instead?"

Lilly shook her head before giving out a short laugh.

"What?" Mercy asked, intrigued at this new change in attitude.

"No, it's funny um, there was this guy we met when this all first happened. His name was Lee. We were all freaking out over walkers or something. So he just turns to me and says, 'well, you don't have to be a bitch about it!'" Lilly told her, imitating Lee to the best of her ability.

Mercy laughed, "Come on, now. You don't have to disqualify yourself for _my _sake."

The was a long silence after that.

"Can I ask you an honest question?" Lilly asked, in a more serious manner.

"I'm all ears, sunshine."

"Why did you do all the things that you did? To all of those people?" Lilly asked.

"Why do any of us do the things we do? Because we do."

"That's not an answer."

Mercy scoffed, "You actually expect an answer that'll satisfy you after all that's happened? Don't hold your breath."

Lilly shrugged and turned away from her.

"Wanna hear a story, Lil?"

"No."

Mercy picked up a small stick and tossed it over the fire, hitting Lilly's shoulder. "Ha. Too bad. Here goes; bout four years ago, me and my boy friend were on a road trip to Washington. We got lost and it got really dark somewhere. There were no signs to help point us in the right direction, just trees."

Lilly laid on her side and supported her head with her arm as she listened to Mercy's story.

"Then for some reason, we both began feeling very sick. Stomach ache. 'Damn it, Mary. You and you piss poor cooking!' My man was an asshole but, that's beside the point. We pulled over and got out, I thought we were both going to hurl but, instead we noticed a woman standing in the road."

"A woman?"

"Yeah, a woman. Anyway, Dan decided to greet her. Turns out she was a creepy mute and wouldn't answer him. Then before long, we see a large black SUV come rushing towards her from the north. Dan freaked out and called to her as he ran towards her. When he touched her arm..."

Mercy got quiet.

"What happened then?" Lilly asked.

"Then she turned, her face was pale white and wrinkly. Her eyes large and black. Her teeth yellow and crooked. Her hair messy and dark. She just screamed and vanished just before the SUV came smashing into my poor, poor Danny... Just messing with you; we puked and got back into the car."

Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Any questions?" Mercy asked as she jabbed her 44. into the snow before stretching her arms to the sky.

In the blink of an eye, Lilly sprang up, hopped over the small fire, and tackled Mercy. They pair struggled for several seconds before Mercy scratched her cheek tossed her off of her before getting back to her feet.

"Ha! Smart, waiting for me to drop my gun first!"

Lilly got to her feet as well, wiping blood from her fresh wound before limping towards towards her once again.

**Author's Note: Forgive this shitty chapter. Lots of events in next week's chapter. Anyone else notice the similarity between This chapter's beginning and my other story's newest chapter? Completely unintentional to do that but, it happened somehow.**


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